From the Stars
by Proud2bEnglish
Summary: You could say I live an ordinary life. So i'm the daughter of the most famous wizard of the age, my best friend is the orphaned son of a werewolf and a metamorphagus, I have way too many cousins and i have a crush on my brother's best friend. How cliché..
1. Prologue

**Welcome to my story - all about Lily Luna Potter!**

* * *

Ginny Potter slumped back onto her pillows; beads of sweat glistening on her face. It was over. Tentatively, she raised a hand to her stomach, and immediately wished she hadn't. The lump that had been gradually increasing over the past nine months was gone. Under the bed covers, her waistline seemed almost flat. Ginny had expected that after three times she would be used to the sudden change, but she never was. On hearing a whimpering cry, her eyes flickered open and met the face of the smiling medi-witch, holding a bundle wrapped in yellow blankets.

'Congratulations. You've got a healthy baby girl.'

Ginny's mouth spread into a weak, but relieved smile. She had a daughter. As much as she loved James and Albus, she didn't want a repeat of her mother's fate. They were a handful as it was, without another brother to join them. The medi-witch carefully handed the crying baby over, and Ginny held her to her chest. Soon Harry would be there with the boys, and she could imagine their happy, calm faces smiling down at the tiny baby in her arms…

'-Look, can you just let me in?'

Ginny jumped in surprise at the voice in the corridor, but then laughed when she realised it belonged to her husband.

'My wife is having a baby! Do you expect me to miss the birth of my child?'

The door banged open and Harry Potter stormed in, along with his temper, sometimes dreadful enough to rival his wife's. Clinging to his dad's hand, and sucking his thumb was Albus, and James trailed along behind looking completely bored by the whole affair.

'_Honestly. _News reporters these days can be so damn frustrating. Don't they understand the concept of "husband" and "father"? Sometimes, i wish I could be anyone else for a day. It's hard having people follow you everywhere you go.'

Ginny took Harry's hand as he came to sit on the edge of her bed.

'You had it then'. It was more of a statement than a question. He seemed quite tired, above everything else.

'It would seem so, here. Now all we need is a name for her.' Ginny handed her daughter over to her father and leant over the bed to ruffle the hair of her younger son.

'We've got a daughter.' Harry smiled, and looked down at the now sleeping baby in his arms. His face looked almost dazed. A small tuft of red hair was visible amongst the folds of the blankets. 'I think we should call her Lily.'

'After your mother.'

'Yes. And Luna as well'.

'You think so?' Ginny said as James climbed up onto the bed to get a good look at his new sister.

'Absolutely. Lily Luna Potter.'

oOo

'Careful now,' the healer said, motioning for Ginny to take the floo powder from a small pot. 'Keep the baby held close at all times.'

'I will, thank you,' Ginny said to be polite. She'd gone through the same procedure and advice twice before. She then stepped into the fireplace with Lily held tightly in one arm, threw down the powder and clearly stated 'Number twelve, Grimmauld Place!'

As always, Ginny screwed her eyes shut and tried not to throw up. Travelling by floo powder within twenty-four hours of having a baby was an incredibly unsettling experience. When the spinning stopped, she opened her eyes to a roar of voices.

Crowded in the long kitchen was every member of the extended Weasley family. Harry was waiting by the fireplace and gave her a one armed hug as she stepped out of the hearth. In a flash, Lily was swept from her arms by adoring family members.

'-Oh she's beautiful!'

'-_Another _girl in the family. The boys are getting outnumbered'

'-What's her name?'

'-Red hair of course! A true Weasley!'

'SHUT UP!'

Everyone jumped, and the babble of voices immediately halted. Sitting on the sofa, with her arms folded and a scowl on her face was Victoire.

'Vicky!' Fleur hissed. 'Behave!'

'Well it's only another stupid baby! I don't see what all the fuss is about.' The seven year-old continued sulkily.

The whole room just stared at her in amused silence, while Fleur was fuming with her daughter and Bill looked embarrassed. Then George, unable to contain himself and seeing the look on his eldest niece's face began to laugh. Victoire stared in shock as everyone else began to join in. Her face crumpled and she ran from the room.

After she was gone, the rest of the family continued on as before, passing Lily around from person to person. Miraculously, she was still sleeping. Ginny watched with a smile on her face and Harry's arm around her shoulders. She took her opportunity to study the decorations that had been put up around the room.

'Can I hold her?'

Ginny averted her gaze from her daughter to see the pleading face of Teddy Lupin looking up at her.

'Sure, go ahead. Audrey?'

Ginny's sister-in-law carefully handed Lily over to the young metamorphagus. The baby squirmed, opened her eyes, and began to wail. Teddy stared in shock, and before he had time to blink, Lily was immediately whisked away by her mother from his hold. Everyone began talking again and crowded around the newborn, resulting only in making her scream even louder. Disturbed by the sudden bawling of their cousin, Rose, Dominique, Molly and Roxanne also began to wail.

In the sudden pandemonium, nobody noticed Victoire slip back into the room. She wandered over to where Teddy was still rooted in shock. Sensing her presence, he came back to reality and whispered into her ear.

'Don't worry Vicky. You're much nicer and prettier than _her_."


	2. Home is where the heart is?

It was just beginning to drizzle when the vibrant red Hogwarts Express pulled up in Platform Nine and three-quarters, in Kings Cross station. The sky had been a typical murky overcast for the duration of the journey. I sighed as the familiar pang of loss hit me, and left the compartment that I was sharing with my brother and his best friend, Scorpius Malfoy. His incredibly _attractive _bestfriend, I reminded myself. I wasn't quite sure _where_ the dreadful crush on Scorpius had come from, but it, and the fact that it would never be returned did a good job of driving me slowly insane. My friends, who were aware of my attachment to him, had insisted that I sit with him for the journey, rather than in a compartment with them. I couldn't decide if I was grateful or not.

I jumped of the Hogwarts express, and leaned back through the doors to retrieve my trunk. It took a lot of solid heaving, but I couldn't get it to budge even an inch.

_Maybe the expansion charm wasn't such a good idea after all. God knows how much stuff I packed in there._

Albus, who still waiting to dismount, stepped over my trunk and hopped down onto the platform beside me.

'Looking for some help, dear sister?' He said with a wink.

I raised a dubious eyebrow as he leaned forward and grabbed my trunk by the handle and pulled. It didn't move. He scowled and tried again with both hands, but with no avail. Sighing, he hunted in his pockets for his wand.

'God, Lily! What have you _got _in here?'

'Just some clothes and books and stuff…' I said innocently.

'Wingardium Leviosa!'

We turned on the spot in surprise to see my other elder brother, James, with his wand out. He smirked and shook his head as he directed my trunk onto a trolley. I stuck my tongue out at him. Just because I was only five foot two and unlikely to grow any more, my brothers treated me like I was hopeless. I knew they were only teasing, but it still got to me.

'I was getting to it!' Albus growled. 'I don't need you doing everything for me as if I'm still not allowed to!'

'I believe I was doing it for my little sister here, not you.'

I stifled a giggle as Albus glared down at James. He may have been a year and a half younger, but he was already three inches taller than our elder brother. Albus cherished his more than average height; it did a good job at scaring boys away from me, much to my annoyance. It was nice though to know that he cared about me so much. He only didn't want my heart to get broken. However, I _was _sixteen and perfectly capable of looking after myself.

Albus chose not to reply, which was probably the best option. He pulled his trunk off the train and shoved it onto a trolley. Then, with one last scowl at James, he pushed it through the light rain over to where Mum and Dad were waiting for us. Filled with a sudden longing to see my parents again, I joined him. It took a lot of effort to get my trolley moving, but I managed it eventually.

'Lily! Albus!' Mum grabbed us both by the arms and wrapped us into a tight hug. It was rather uncomfortable being squashed up next to my brother, but I'd missed my parents so much that I didn't care. When we were released, Dad stepped forward and kissed my forehead and then clapped Albus on the back.

'You're growing faster than Ron did at your age!'

I heard a familiar laugh from behind me. It belonged to my aunt, Hermione.

'Hugo doesn't seem to have inherited his genes though,' she said, ruffling the already messy hair of her son. Hugo scowled and turned away. Rose, who had just turned up pulling her trolley behind her, rolled her eyes at her younger brother. There was barely and inch between them in height.

'Where's Dad?' She asked.

'Parking the car, we had a few errands to run while we were here. London can be such a nightmare. He's going to wait for us on the other side of the barrier.'

With a smile, I remembered back seven years ago when uncle Ron declared that he was going to get a driving licence. It took him three times to manage it, even with help from Hermione and he _still _had to confound the examiner. I wondered if she actually knew.

'What sort of errands?' I asked suspiciously.

Hermione just shared a knowing glance with my parents and tapped her nose. I growled. There was nothing that bugged me more than people hiding things from me, except possibly the uncomfortable drizzle that was surrounding us all.

'Anyway.' Albus said impatiently. 'It feels like we're standing in a cloud. Could we possibly _go _now?'

oOo

It was quite a relief to step out of the torrential rain, and into the warm-ish hallway of Grimmauld Place. I usually liked the rain; in the solitary, romantic walks through the open field sort of way, but not trudging through London with your family. It was early evening, and my stomach was growling violently. I wondered vaguely how long dinner would take, seeing as my mother was with us, and hadn't begun cooking yet. I considered offering my services, in the hope that it might be quicker. But judging by my culinary skills, that wouldn't have been a good idea.

'All right, you know the routine. Dump your dirty things in the washing room, unless you want them to go mouldy,' Mum said, before performing a drying charm over herself, and heading down into the basement.

I clambered up the two flights of stairs to my room and threw open the door. Everything was exactly as I had left it. An issue of 'Witch Weekly' was still lying open on my desk, now almost a year out of date. I sighed in contentment and threw myself down onto my bed, grabbing my blue covers and scrunching up in my arms as I did so. As much as I loved the four-posters in my dormitory, there's nothing like your own pillow, _and_ your own room. Despite the horrid English weather, it was the summer. I closed my eyes and suppressed a groan. Summer. I was going to have to find birthday presents for both my parents. That was Albus' department, not mine. He always seemed to know what people wanted, somehow. I made a mental note to bug him for ideas at some point over the next few days. Just as I was doing that, I heard a knock on my door.

'Come in.'

The door opened, and through it came my trunk, floating along in the air.

'Is that you, Al?' I asked

'No, it's James'.

'Thanks.'

I waited for the footsteps to retreat down the corridor before plonking myself down onto the faded rug on the hard, wooden floor. Very few rooms in our house had carpets. I grimaced knowing that if I didn't sort all my dirty clothes out now, then I wouldn't ever get round to it. For most of the year they were washed by the house elves, but a few weeks before the end of term on realising I had enough to last me, I had stopped bothering. I pushed open the lid and pulled out every item of clothing that I had stuffed into its expanded depths. I saw what my brother had meant; there _was _a lot of stuff on it. More than I thought.

It took three trips to get all my laundry downstairs, dropping many things along the way. The piles were so large that I had trouble with seeing where I was going and I almost tripped over the steps countless times. I wouldn't have been surprised if it took my mother all summer to get the washing done even with the help of magic. By the time I was finished I was exhausted and I decided firmly that everything else in my trunk could wait until tomorrow to be sorted out. I changed out of my wet clothes and dragged myself down the stairs one last time, and entered our capacious sitting room.

Dad was sitting on the most comfortable sofa and had started a game of wizard chess with James, who was sitting cross-legged on a large, squashy cushion on the floor. Albus was slumped in an armchair nearby, reading the day's edition of the _Daily Prophet_. I watched his eyes skim over the paper and his face unconsciously change into amusing expressions, before wandering over to sit next to my father and observe while his queen was obliterated by one of my brother's knights. I flinched as her sword went flying in my direction and almost hit me in the eye.

'Sorry, Lils.'

'S'okay.'

The game went on in James' favour, as more and more white pieces were destroyed and all three of us looked like we'd just returned from a chalk quarry. I swore that this particular set was a lot messier and more violent than most. No doubt it came from the same direction as my uncle's joke shop. My suspicions looked to be confirmed when the pieces started to glare at each other across the board and crack their knuckles.

'You're getting way to good at this.' Dad grumbled. 'I'll have to start refusing to play with you soon.'

'But you're the only person who _will _play with me.'

'I wonder why…' I muttered sarcastically.

Two minutes later the game was over, and my brother had won with almost three-quarters of his pieces remaining. He asked me if I wanted to play, but I politely declined. He didn't seem at all surprised. I looked at the clock and yet again, wondered how long dinner would be. It was already seven o'clock. I brushed the worst of the dust from my clothes and wandered down into the kitchen and was hit by the smell of lasagne. It seemed to be almost done, so rather than returning upstairs I just sat down at the table, while my mum cleared up.

'Lily love, could you do something useful please?'

I sighed and stood up. I should have known that I would be asked to do something productive, rather than sitting there and doing nothing. I dragged myself over to the dresser in the corner, and pulled out a pile of plates and a handful of cutlery. I laid them all on one end of the table, which was so long that unless we had the entire family around to visit for some reason or another, most of it was scarcely used. There were many rooms in our house too, that nobody ever had a need to go in.

'So honey. Did anything interesting happen this year that you'd like to tell me about?'

_No, not really. Unless you count falling into complete craziness for your brother's best friend. How cliché…_

I shrugged. 'Not particularly. The OWLs went all right but no doubt I failed History of Magic. Everyone seems to.'

'I'm sure you did great, sweetie. So what about boys then, how's it going in that department?'

I froze momentarily, hoping my cheeks wouldn't turn red and give me away. I tried not to think about a particular blonde Malfoy. It was hard. _Very _hard. I was very much decided that I was not sharing that little secret with anyone yet, especially my family.

'Mum…'

'Sorry. I just want to let you know that I have no problems with you dating, that's all. I don't want to hear your brother has been trying to stop it.'

'Thanks, but it's okay. Honestly.' I looked away and laid down the last knife. 'I'd never allow Albus to stop me doing something I don't want to do. You know that.'

She looked at me for a moment as if she wasn't sure she entirely believed me, but then nodded and turned towards the cooker to retrieve the lasagne. Mum wasn't quite as good at cooking as Grandma Molly, but she was still a lot better than me. Even James wasn't that bad when he could be bothered. I slipped out of the kitchen and returned upstairs with the excuse that I was going to inform everyone that dinner was ready.

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**So - Chapter numerol one. I have up to four already pre-written :)**


	3. Mornings are for myself

**Chapter Two**

I woke up the next morning because of the shaft of sunlight shining through the gap in my curtains. It was quite dim, meaning it was probably only about eight in the morning, if that. Cursing my body clock, which was used to getting up at un-godly hours in the morning, I rolled over and attempted to get back to sleep. It was then that my ears tuned into the birds singing their heads off, an odd change from owls hooting. I groaned and jammed my pillow over my head.

_What does one have to do around here to get a lie-in in the morning?_

I must have drifted off to into a light sleep after that, because the next thing I knew, someone was knocking on my door. I noted that the sun was shining only a little brighter, but that wasn't a brilliant indication of the time of day here. Maybe it was time I found a clock for my room rather than having to get up and go down to the ground floor to find out the time, meaning there was be no hope of getting back to sleep.

My visitor knocked again, this time a little louder.

'Whaddaya want?' I grumbled, my voice muffled by my pillow.

'To know if you're planning on eating breakfast at any point today, or even getting out of bed.' It was Albus.

I lay in bed and pondered for a few moments. Breakfast could wait, if eating it meant removing myself from the state of comfort I was in.

'I'm thinking about it.' I replied.

'Whatever you say, Lils.'

The footsteps died away and I re-closed my eyes. It was probably asking too much of fate to allow me more sleep now, but it was worth a try. What I thought must have been barely five minutes later, I heard the doorbell ring. I heard the distant rush of air and other outside noises as the front door was opened, and re-closed. I raised my head from my pillow in an attempt to distinguish the voices in the hallway, but they were beyond recognition.

_Great. Well, that settles it. I'm not going downstairs in my pyjamas if we've got visitors. That's going way too far._

I rolled onto my back and stared at the peeling paint on the white, blotchy ceiling. The voice downstairs laughed, and I heard another set of footsteps make their way steadily up the stairs. I groaned. If that was Mum coming to get me, there was no way that I'd be able to stay in bed. She seemed to think that mornings shouldn't be wasted as that is technically wasting a huge amount of your life. The footsteps got gradually closer and I cringed, eyes closed, waiting for the dreaded knock. Finally it came. Two quiet, but firm taps.

'_Please, _Go away.'

'Oh, okay. Sorry Lily.' The footsteps immediately began to retreat.

My eyelids flew open. I knew that voice. I knew it just as I loved it and it was also the one that I was least expecting. No longer caring about my state of apparel, I threw myself out of my bed. I would have been prepared to bet that my hair was sticking out into many wild directions, but that was the last thing on my mind. I grabbed my dressing gown from the hook on the door of my room and pulled it on, before stumbling out into the landing.

Standing halfway down the corridor, dressed in a long navy blue travelling cloak with his back facing me was a young man in his mid-twenties. Droplets of water clung to most of his body and were slowly dripping off onto the floor. He turned to face me with a quizzical expression on his face, and although his hair and some of his features were different to the last time I saw them I still knew exactly who it was.

'Teddy!' I squealed.

He smiled, probably because of how ridiculous I looked. That didn't bother me though because it was just so brilliant to see him again. Despite there being almost ten years between our ages, Teddy Lupin was most definitely my best friend. I ran up to him in a flourish and wrapped my arms tightly around his waist. He seemed a little surprised by my actions, but he raised a hand and gently patted my back anyway. He was just as wet as he looked, but I didn't care in the slightest.

'Hey my little Lilyflower. How's it going?'

I smiled at his use of my special pet name. Nobody else ever called me 'Lilyflower', besides him.

'Wonderful.' My face was buried in his chest, so my voice sounded a bit muffled. 'How's Victoire?'

I felt his body relax, and almost soften slightly at the mention of his girlfriend's, and my eldest cousin's name.

'Good. She's good.'

After one more squeeze, I released Teddy and stood back to take a look at him.

'Your hair's gotten lighter, and longer. And less sticky-out at the front.'

He gave a quiet chuckle and ran his hand through the wet and messy, hay-coloured mop in his head that had previously been plastered to his face. Despite being a metamorphagus, Teddy had been quite consistent with his appearance since he'd reached adulthood. The novelty of being able to look however you wanted had obviously started to wear off. I preferred his natural look anyway, which was quite similar to how it was at that moment.

'Yours is longer too. But still as fiery as ever.'

I replied with a grin and began to make my way down the stairs. Maybe getting out of bed wasn't _so_ bad after all.

'So Teddy,' I said, stopping so suddenly that he almost walked into me. 'What brings you over here so early in the morning?'

'Early?' I heard his voice come from behind me. 'Lily, it's gone midday. I'm here for lunch.'

I blushed and turned on the step to see him smiling at me in an amused manner. Again. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously, but he just pointed to the large grandfather clock on the bottom landing. Sure enough, it was nearing half-past twelve. Had I really been in bed that long? That was bad even for my standards.

We entered the sitting room, to find all the members of my family already assembled in various items of furniture.

'See Mum,' Albus stage-whispered. 'I told you that sending Teddy up there would have her up without a second thought.'

'I think we'll have to employ you Ted. Twenty galleons per morning and you'll be rich in no time,' Dad added.

'Oh very funny.' I wandered over to the armchair in the corner and slumped as far into it as I could. Dragging some poor person into our house every morning just to wake me up would soon lose its effect. It had only worked that morning because they had the element of surprise.

'Teddy dear, you can sit down you know rather than standing in the doorway,' Mum said, taking his cloak from him and ushering him with more than necessary force towards the large sofa 'And Lily, go and get dressed before lunch.'

Teddy, despite being a grown man of twenty-six, obeyed my mother and took a seat next to Albus, who was yet again engrossed in the _Daily Prophet. _I really did wonder what he saw in that newspaper.

After lunch, Teddy regretfully informed us that he had to be getting on his way, much to the disappointment of Albus and myself. Being in Hogwarts for most of the year, we only got to see him during the holidays. Even then, he was often too busy with his training to spend much time with us. At first I had been quite surprised when he announced his intentions to become a healer, but then after consideration it actually made quite a lot of sense. Having lost both of his parents in the war, it was only natural that Teddy would want to dedicate his time to saving the lives of others.

'Don't worry.' He assured us as he exited through the front door. 'I promise I'll try to see you again before you go back to school. Besides, you no doubt will forget me in the next couple of weeks, what with all the excitement'

I stared at him with a puzzled expression, and noticed that Albus looked just as confused. Teddy just shared an annoyingly knowing look with my parents before turning back to us and adding;

'Lets just say that you will rather busy.'

Then he was gone. How come everyone seemed to be hiding something from us? I looked to James, but he was pointedly avoiding my gaze. With a scowl, I returned to the kitchen and helped my mum with the dishes. As much as I liked the size of Grimmauld Place, London would not have been my first choice of a place to live. There was very little to do in such a large city. As a rule we tended to stay away from the muggles, and the lack of space for such things as Quidditch could be frustrating. Albus did enjoy walks around muggle London though, and sometimes I would join him. I also appreciated that this house had been a gift from Harry's dead Godfather Sirius Black, and inhabiting a house that is left for you is much simpler than finding and buying your own.

By mid-afternoon, I found myself in one of the less occupied rooms of our house, staring out of the window as the rain splattered against it. It wasn't often that I left myself to my thoughts like this, but now I was back home, away from the hustle and bustle of Hogwarts it seemed like a good idea. I sighed as my mind wandered in the direction towards Scorpius, a path that it had taken to following rather often. What would Albus do if he found out? Would he be annoyed, or would he be amused that his sister had developed feelings for his best friend? And what about Scorpius himself? Would he be disgusted?

_It's hardly as if I'm the only girl in the school pining after him…_

It was true. I'd seen even first-year girls making eyes at him in the corridors, the Great Hall and just about anywhere they could. Maybe I was lucky to have a connection with him through Albus, what with him being a year above me and in Slytherin. Otherwise I would never have a hope in hell. But then again, it was hardly likely that he'd ever go for me anyway.

'Lily.'

A gave a start as Albus called my name. I had been so wrapped up in my thoughts that I hadn't heard him come in. I wondered how long he'd been standing there watching me, and pleaded to God that he hadn't mastered Legilimency. I watched as he wandered further into the room and sat down in a chair opposite me.

'So. What brings you in here?' I asked, after a moment of silence. He shrugged.

'Just bored, that's all. There's nothing to _do _around here. Why can't they just open Hogwarts all year round?'

'Because then people like you who love Hogwarts so much that they can scarcely bear leaving it, wouldn't see their parents for a full seven years of their lives, and that is not a good thing.'

'No, I guess you're right.'

We continued to sit in silence for a few minutes, as the sound of the rain on the window gradually decreased until it was completely gone. I heard the sound of a car pulling into the driveway next door and then the door slamming a moment later. Maybe I could make a start on some homework or something. I rose from my chair and made to leave, but when I reached the doorway I remembered something. I turned back to look at my brother.

'Al?'

'Mhmm.'

'I'm stuck with ideas for presents. Dad's birthday is only a couple of weeks away and Mum's is soon after that and you know how bad I am with this sort of thing so I was wondering if you could possibly help me out?' It all came out in a rush.

Albus gave a quiet chuckle before leaning back in his chair. His forehead creased as he thought for a moment.

'How about a dinner out somewhere, at a nice restaurant in Diagon Alley? That way it can be a joint present and they can enjoy it together. Although, nowhere too soppy or romantic. They wouldn't appreciate that. Just somewhere nice.'

I stared at him in disbelief. How on earth did he manage to come up with things like this on the spot? Albus saw my expression, and misinterpreted it.

'Well, if you don't think it's a good idea then-'

'No! Al, it's fantastic. I was just surprised at how brilliant an idea it was. That's all.'

He grinned at me, and I grinned back before hurrying up to my room. Then all I had to do was find a way to get to Diagon Alley and reserve places for my parents, without them finding out. Unless… I stopped on the stairs and pondered for a second.

_Uncle George! Yes! All I need to do I contact him at his shop and he can get it done with no trouble whatsoever. Then all I have to do is send him some money to pay for it._


	4. The art of hugging

**Chapter 3 is now up :) **

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On the third day of our holidays, the clouds finally relented, and we got our first rays of sunshine. James, who was most enthused about this, proposed an immediate day trip to the country to play a game of Quidditch. I thought it was a fantastic idea but dad was dubious; he said that you never knew where you would find muggles on their odd long walks. School trips were pretty good at visits to obscure places too and if they were to see us there would be trouble.

Trouble being a lot of work for the Obliviators and being practically hanged by the Ministry of Magic, the 'famous Harry Potter' and family or not.

'Why can't we just use a concealing charm?' Albus said with a shrug, while drenching his cereal in milk.

'It could still be risky, and that sort of thing was always Hermione's department.' Anyway, I didn't think you were that into Quidditch, Al?'

Albus shrugged. I felt a bit sorry for him sometimes, being the black sheep of the family. Both our parents loved Quidditch and Mum used to play on the Holyhead Harpies, but the sport just didn't excite Albus in the same way as James and myself. He was on the Slytherin Quidditch team for a couple of years, but then dropped out because of his O.. That was another reason why he was different; Al was the only member in the Weasley/Potter clan to be sorted into Slytherin. James teased him dreadfully about it and Al would pretend to get offended, but we all knew really that he was perfectly happy where he was.

'Oh come on, please can we go? Rose and Hugo can come with Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron,' I said, and promptly dropped my toast on my dressing gown, covering it in butter.

'I don't know Lily…' Mum started. 'There are still risks.'

I turned to Dad with a pleading look. His will was always a lot easier to break through. He sighed, and lay down his spoon.

'Ginny dear, we always managed to play Quidditch in the fields near the burrow didn't we? If we just went somewhere near there…'

James and I cheered, and Albus smiled as Mum finally gave in. Straight after breakfast while I went to go and get dressed, Dad contacted Grandma and Grandpa Weasley to arrange a visit to their house in a couple of hours. Such a short notice would probably have bothered most people, but Molly and Arthur were always happy to see any of their grandchildren whenever they could.

After I'd got dressed, I peeked through the curtains of my room to check that the weather was still reasonable. There were only a few small white clouds remaining, which was good and I just prayed that it would stay that way for at least a few hours. It took me much longer than it should have done to find and extract my Firebolt 360 from my trunk. It was quite an old broom, having been around for about fifteen years, but it worked well enough. James' was much better.

At about eleven o'clock we were all gathered in the sitting room. We were going to apparate because it was the easiest form of travel and we were low on floo powder. Much to my annoyance though, I had to go side along because I hadn't passed the test. I could see the corners of Albus' mouth twitch slightly as I gripped onto his arm and turned on the spot with him. I'd thought that the novelty of being seventeen and legally an adult would have worn off him since last September, It obviously hadn't.

Grandma Molly was waiting for us in the kitchen as we all appeared in the large garden of The Burrow, our broomsticks carried by Mum, Dad and James.

'Arthur! They're here!' She yelled, and hurried out to meet us as fast as she could in her old age. Strands of her wispy gingery-white hair flying around her head like some sort of halo.

'My dear Al, you're growing so fast! How tall are you now?'

'Six foot two,' he replied with a grin, before being pulled along with me into a rib-cracking hug, not unlike the one Mum had given us a few days before. I wondered if it was something I'd have to perfect when I had children. Maybe there was some sort of course, 'The Art of Hugging'. I'd have to do some research.

We were finally released, and she moved onto James, who had been trying to slip into the house with Mum and Dad. He pulled a face at me and Albus over Grandma's shoulder, causing me to collapse into a fit of giggles.

'What's so funny?' Grandad had arrived.

Still smiling, I just shook my head and allowed myself to be hugged.

'Guess what we've got, Albus?' He said excitedly, after letting me go. 'A Fellytision!'

That meant he'd finally broken through. For years, Grandad had been trying to buy a television, but every time he'd asked, Grandma had refused him. I wondered what had triggered this sudden change of heart on her account. I did wonder though how on earth they managed to work it without mains electricity. I was pretty sure that there were other things that made getting and being able to actually _watch _a T.V impossible too, but I wasn't sure what. I didn't do Muggle Studies like Albus, and frankly, I didn't really care.

'Don't you need a licence from a television company?' Albus asked, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Well it wasn't obvious to me.

'Well we haven't _quite _got it working yet… but won't it be amazing to be able to watch the BCC? We'll know everything that's going on in the Muggle World, and even what the weather is going to be like!'

I rolled my eyes and left them to it. If I'd survived this long without the need for electricity, so I was sure I could survive a little longer. Walking through the door of the kitchen, I found Mum sitting on the sofa and humming quietly, while Dad stared out of the window. James was sitting at the table. Intense concentration filled his muddy brown eyes as he sat trimming the twigs on the end of his broomstick to exactly the right length. I picked mine up from where it had been propped against the sink, and sat down to polish the handle. It didn't really need it, but it was something to do.

'Hogwarts changed at all? Has anything interesting happened yet?' James said after we'd been working for a about a minute.

'Nope.'

We continued in silence for a short while, before he spoke again.

'It's strange to think isn't? All those things that happened… while Mum and Dad were at school. With Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione you know? Hogwarts just seemed so normal. After all the stories we'd heard as kids, I'd half-expected to be confronted with a dragon the moment I stepped through the doors.'

'I wouldn't have had it any other way for you,' Dad said suddenly from the window in an unusually grave tone, which immediately silenced my light-hearted laughter. 'It may sound like fun to you, but there are no words to describe those years and the pain that we went through - especially in the last year. Teddy's parent's died in that war.'

James ran a nervous hand through his messy auburn hair and I looked down, feeling a little bad. It was mainly Uncle George who had told us the stories, but that was generally only the funny and exciting bits, and we'd found out a little from history books and newspapers as children. This was the closest Dad himself had ever got to recounting his teenage years. I'd seen him sometimes when I was younger, just sitting by himself or staring at old photographs for up to hours at a time. Mum had always told us to leave him be when he was like that and I'd even heard him once or twice, yelling in his sleep. I remembered Mum finding me and my brothers huddled up on the sofa one night, terrified at the sound of his screams. She'd gone out of her way to make sure he got a calming draught for his sleep every night since then.

At about quarter to twelve while we 'admiring' the flat screen TV in the sitting room, we heard voices in the kitchen. From the sound of it, Rose and Hugo had arrived. They'd come alone by floo powder, while their parents had decided to stay at home. Much to my surprise, they both had broomsticks. Like Albus, Rose wasn't much of a Quidditch player. At closer inspection though, I observed an old looking novel in her spare hand. I could just make out the title as being _Sense and Sensibility_. I failed in hiding my smile as my two cousins got their ribs cracked by Grandma. It wouldn't have been fair if they'd been spared the treatment.

Alright – I'm being a little unfair. Of course I love Grandma Molly, and I love hugs. I just don't like being squished into mush, that's all. I'd rather keep all of my bones intact, because I never want to have to drink skele-grow again in my life. Ever.

After being set free, Hugo caught my eye and wandered over to where I was sitting, rubbing his chest with his hand. Of all my many cousins, Hugo was the only one in the same year at Hogwarts as me. Only just though, his birthday was in the last week of August-

_Crap. Another present to buy. Why is my family so damn __**large**__?_

'Lo, Lily,'

I liked Hugo. He was only four inches taller than me, and probably one of the shortest almost-sixteen-year old boy I knew. Despite their similar heights, he and his sister couldn't have any more different in appearance. Rose was red-headed, brown-eyes and freckled like me, but unfortunately inherited the thick bushy gene form Aunt Hermione. Hugo on the other hand, had blue eyes like his father and his brown hair, although often messy, was dead straight. I suppose you could say that their noses were slightly similar, if you squint.

'Hi Hugh, how's it going? Looking forward to the O. results?'

He replied by pulling a face, and claiming that they 'probably wouldn't be _too_ bad'. I rolled my eyes and hit him playfully on the side of the head. He may not have been quite as intelligent as his sister and mother, but he was still more than a match for my brains. I wouldn't have been surprised if he got a full run of E's and O's.

Grandma ushered us all into the kitchen for a quick lunch before we went flying. I was quite glad about this, because she made the best sandwiches in the world. You could say that all sandwiches taste pretty much the same, but it would be a lie.

'Are you excited about the Quidditch then?' Grandad asked.

'Well, I don't know about _excited-' _

I was cut off in mid-sentence as James choked on a mouthful of fruitcake. Albus reached over and whacked him on the back. The lump of food was dislodged from his throat and the conversation moved on. Mum and Dad looked strangely relieved. I mean, so their nineteen year-old son was choking – but it's hardly as if he was on the edge of death, was it?

At about two o'clock, we headed out to the meadow where we could safely play without being spotted by prying muggle eyes. To our surprise however, it was already occupied. We were about to turn back, when we recognised the blonde twins sitting against the trunk of a tree by the far side of the field. It was the Scamander twins, Lorcan and Lysander. Come to think of it, their grandfather, Xenophelius Lovegood lived quite close, so it wasn't unusual for them to be around.

They looked up as they saw us approach, with identical, half-dazed grins on their faces. They were in the year below me and their mother, Luna, had been friends with my mum, and had known Dad, Ron and Hermione fairly well too. I had never been particularly close to either of them, but I knew that my cousin Lucy had a bit of a thing going for Lysander, the more outgoing and 'sane' of the pair. Okay, that's probably a bit rude. Luna just had a few… interesting _quirks_, which seem to have rubbed off onto her sons. One more than the other.

'You've got a wrackspurt in your hair, Lily,' Lorcan said.

See what I mean?

'Oh, I don't mind them,' I said absentmindedly, while inspecting the contents of the jar his brother was holding.

Lorcan just looked at me like I'd dribbled on my shirt. 'If that gets inside your ears and breeds then your brain will get slowly eaten away.'

'Oh. Right, well I'll just kill it then.'

I hit my head in various places, just to please him. I must have got 'it' in the end because Lorcan gave me a smile of satisfaction, before taking the jar from Lysander and peering inside. I did wonder what on earth had possessed the Sorting Hat to put him in Ravenclaw, while his twin was in Gryffindor.

'We're going to play Quidditch now, do you want to join in?' James asked.

'Nah, that's ok, we were just heading back home for lunch now anyway,' Lysander said.

'Ok, we'll see you around then.'

The twins climbed over the fence and disappeared down the hill on the other side of the field. We split into teams, Me and James versus Hugo and either Rose or Albus, who had decided to take it in turns.

'You ready, cuz?' Hugo said with a sly smile, before we kicked off into the air.

'Bring it on.'

* * *


End file.
